Page 64 of Violet Legacy

That piqued Dante’s attention. He glanced over to Anhur, who subtly nodded in agreement.

“And the wayfarers?” Rieka asked, breaking the silence of the room. “What exactly are they?”

Rieka was taking the information far better than he had expected. But then, he was not sure how much Lilian had told her. The tension was thick enough to slice with a knife. Anhur and Frankie had not taken their gazes off Rieka. Dante could almost see the mechanics behind Anhur’s mind. It did not matter. Rieka was his responsibility, his to protect.

A faint line of concern creased Aadya’s forehead. The only hint of emotion she dared show, even among her closest family. “The wayfarers are soldiers. It was said that the O’hurani commanded an army of three thousand elite soldiers, handpicked from both Atlantean and human families. The Anki commanded a further ten thousand soldiers and mercenaries, but these were merely foot soldiers. The armies did not perish, instead they hibernate just like their masters. Ready to be awakened when the O’hurani rises and calls them forth.”

Dante stilled. None of the Houses had close to that number of soldiers, even in the unlikely scenario that they could combine their forces.

Rieka lifted her gaze, the reds of her eyes blazing with emotion as she held onto his hand. “I don’t think they are sleeping anymore.”

“No,” Aadya agreed. “I think they have grown in numbers.”

Frankie swore softly.

Rieka squeezed his hand, entangling her fingers with his. “But we may have found a clue.”

We. A small part of Dante flared with emotion. Simple, but it gave him more hope than he had felt in centuries. All because of the woman beside him.

Aadya tilted her head, her gaze taking in him and Rieka, missing nothing. “Show me.”

Chapter 39

Riekacouldtastetheash and blood from the vision.

As if she was still there in the memory, transported to the past. She didn’t know who or what she could trust anymore. Lilian had kept so much to herself; she wasn’t sure what was real and what had been a fantasy-inspired story to keep Rieka quiet. The stories of her childhood were half-truths wrapped in a dark fairy tale. A way for Lilian to pass down their history and warnings. That was why fairy tales had been invented. Why wouldn’t Lilian create her own?

Dante touched her. A subtle touch that scarcely grazed her arm. So many times, when she felt like she was floating in an abyss, Dante had acted like an anchor. She was fast coming to rely on Dante, and she didn’t know how she felt about it. They had made no promises. She would go her way once they found the tomb, back to her small apartment and empty life. Her heart fluttered at the idea.

Rieka had been staring at the mosaic for so long that if she closed her eyes, she could see every intricate detail without prompting. The others had taken turns to keep an eye on her, except for Dante. He hadn’t left her.

After the discussion with Aadya, there was no denying what she had dreamed. Even if she hadn’t been able to put it in words, the image was seared in her mind. Whoever had created the mosaic had been there on the beach. The style was identical to the drawings in the journal. There was no denying it anymore; Lilian had been responsible for creating the mosaic.

The pale blue eyes of the child had been unmistakable. It was the same color of eyes her mom had. A look she had seen on her mother’s face countless times, the faraway look of someone who had been lost in a long-forgotten memory, who had never left the past behind.

Lilian had been the lost heir of the House Atlas. The one the Atlanteans had half-heartedly looked for. But her mom had chosen not to go back. Instead, she had forsaken her Atlantean heritage to wander the world. Until Rieka had been born.

Rieka swallowed.

It made her the granddaughter of Vandana. And the O’hurani. The blood of queens and monsters did run through her veins. Just as Lilian had told her. Rieka wished she had paid more attention to the fantastical tales of her childhood. What else had her mom been trying to tell her?

The pendant throbbed, heating against her skin. Vandana’s warning followed her, but she ignored it. Rieka was done hiding.

The severe sound of heels echoed loudly in the silence.

“It is beautiful,” Sypha said.

Rieka turned to face the Atlantean. As always, Sypha was dressed head-to-toe in white. Silver flashed underneath Sypha’s right heel. They looked like small hand blades. Rieka grinned in response. There was something ethereal about Sypha, as if they didn’t belong in their world, more so than any other Atlantean Rieka had encountered. The more she spent time with the older Atlantean, the more Rieka realized that there was so little she knew about the other species—that her entire experience had been influenced by assumptions and stories from Lilian. Standing just inside the entrance, Sypha looked slightly uncomfortable at the tightness of the room.

Rieka turned her attention back to the mosaic. It was the key. She just needed to ask the right question. “I think the clue to finding the tomb is here.”

Talik whistled as he leaned against the mosaic. Rieka stared at him. The Atlantean had the good grace to look somewhat embarrassed as he sheepishly moved away from the eleven-thousand-year-old wall. Somewhere along the line, Talik had traded his three-piece business suit for the matte-black uniform of the guards. Just like Dante. When she had seen Dante, she had stared for a full minute. The Atlantean looked good in everything he wore. But her favorite was when he was wearing nothing.

Rieka shook her head. When had she ever felt so comfortable around a group of people? Even on her own archaeological excavations, the feeling of being an outsider or an impostor had never been far. A small part of her reminded her they weren’t here for her. Somehow, Dante had created a family who would do anything for him. And for a few days, she could pretend she belonged.

“To answer the question no one has asked: we haven’t been able to track down the serpopard. For an animal that size, it is more than adept at hiding.”

“I have guards continuing to look. The rest of the guests are unaware of what transpired,” Khalida seamlessly finished before she turned and locked eyes with Rieka. “They carved this room out of bedrock. It shouldn’t even exist.”

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